Methods for fabrication, manufacture and production of an autonomous electrical power source

ABSTRACT

A method for forming a unique, environmentally-friendly micron scale autonomous electrical power source is provided in a configuration that generates renewable energy for use in electronic systems, electronic devices and electronic system components. The configuration includes a first conductor with a facing surface conditioned to have a low work function, a second conductor with a facing surface having a comparatively higher work function, and a dielectric layer, not more than 200 nm thick, sandwiched between the respective facing surfaces of the first conductor and the second conductor. The autonomous electrical power source formed according to the disclosed method is configured to harvest minimal thermal energy from any source in an environment above absolute zero. An autonomous electrical power source component is also provided that includes a plurality of autonomous electrical power source constituent elements electrically connected to one another to increase a power output of the autonomous electrical power source.

BACKGROUND

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/167,372, entitled “Methods for Fabrication, Manufacture andProduction of an Autonomous Electrical Power Source”, filed in theUnited States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on Oct. 22, 2018,which published as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2019-0058104 A1 from the USPTO on Feb. 21, 2019 and which issued as U.S.Pat. No. 10,546,991 on Jan. 28, 2020, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/167,372was a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/484,036,entitled “Methods for Fabrication, Manufacture and Production of anAutonomous Electrical Power Source,” filed on Apr. 10, 2017, whichpublished as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0294399 A1 onOct. 11, 2018, and which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,109,781 on Oct. 23,2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety; thisapplication is also a Continuation In Part (CIP) of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/484,033, entitled “Autonomous Electrical PowerSources,” filed on Apr. 10, 2017, which published as U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2018/0294393 A1 on Oct. 11, 2018, which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. This application isrelated to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/095,061, entitled “EnergyHarvesting Components And Devices,” filed on Apr. 9, 2016, and whichissued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,079,561 on Sep. 18, 2018 which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety; U.S. patent application Ser.No. 15/095,063, entitled “Methods For Fabrication, Manufacture AndProduction Of Energy Harvesting Components And Devices,” filed on Apr.9, 2016, and which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,056,538 on Aug. 21, 2018which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Thedisclosures of the above parent and related applications, patentpublications and issued patents are each hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSED EMBODIMENTS

This disclosure relates to a method for fabricating, manufacturing, orotherwise producing structure for a unique, environmentally-friendlyautonomous electrical power source capable of being embedded instructures, and deployed in other environments, in which a sustainable,substantially permanent source of electrical energy is beneficial and inwhich accessibility to the electrical power source is restricted in amanner that may preclude servicing, recharge, replenishment orreplacement.

RELATED ART

Recent technologic advances, particularly with the evolution oflow-power solid state circuits and circuit components, havesignificantly increased the numbers and types of electronic systems,electronic devices, electronic system components, sensor systems/devicesand wireless communicating components that require individual, scalableand often rechargeable sources of portable electrical power. Suchsystems and devices are routinely employed for communication,information exchange, manufacturing improvement, tracking/surveillance,health monitoring, personal entertainment and other like operationaltasks. Machine-controlled processes improve information flow,manufacturing precision, information exchange, environmental control,system and area monitoring and individual convenience in virtually everyarea of daily life.

Electronic monitoring, sensor employment and communication findsadvantageous employment in myriad real-world applications. Structures ofall types are environmentally monitored and controlled by electronicsensor, anomaly detection, security and climate control components.Vehicles of all types include electronic navigation communication, andembedded electronic health monitoring systems. Electronic systems anddevices in these structures and vehicles include a capacity to belocally monitored, as well as being remotely monitored at centralizedlocations, the remote monitoring providing extensive advantages to theowners and occupants of the structures and vehicles.

Electronic data exchange and communication have become anall-too-necessary staple of commercial efficiency and individualconvenience. Cellular telephones, smartphones and other personalcommunication devices, often supported by powered wireless microphones,have become fairly ubiquitous in today's communicating environment.Wireless data exchange is a virtual necessity to many individuals asthey undertake daily business and recreational tasks. Portable computingdevices of all forms including tablet-type computers and other forms ofhand-held personal digital assistant (PDA) devices, supported by anemerging class of wearable input/output (I/O) devices and interfaces,keep individuals' documents, personal and professional calendars, listsand contact information, reference and presentation materials, photoalbums, music and other entertainment sources, and the like. Thesedevices facilitate numerical calculations, timekeeping and all forms ofdata storage keeping close at hand necessary and/or desired informationfor a particular user in the conduct of his or her employment functionsand personal tasks and/or enjoyment. Location and timekeeping data areconstantly updated, and all types of pre-programmed data alerts and/oralarms are provided. Much of the locally-generated data input by usersvia their personal electronic devices is communicated to securecentralized locations as a “backup” against prevention of loss of thatdata, or otherwise for off-site analytics and the like.

At a comparable rate, miniaturized, transistorized, solid-state, andother powered devices and/or system components are finding their wayincreasingly into many and widely-varied technology areas. Roboticdevices and other electronically actuated devices are increasinglyreplacing manual laborers in performing certain routine repetitivetasks, in implementing intricate computer-aided design and manufacturingof components and component structures that cross a broad spectrum ofmanufacturing and piece/part production functions, and in automatingeven the simplest environmental surveillance, monitoring and controlfunctions. The precision available in the use of electronicallymachine-implemented instructions far surpasses that available by theefforts of even the most skilled artisan. Again here, the communicationpiece is important for records accumulation, remote analytics, systemmonitoring and control system update, among other beneficial functions.

Many technologies have been enabled and/or aided by the implementationof transistorized, miniaturized and other solid-state devices and devicecomponents. A broad spectrum of medical devices, for example, fromdigital thermometers to glucometers to hearing aids to pacemakers to allmanner of personal health monitoring components, relying on miniaturizedsensors and solid-state circuitry for monitoring, augmentation andcommunication of information regarding often-critical health parametersof individuals. Increasingly, individuals may be “fitted” or implantedwith personal monitoring devices in order that they individually, ortheir physicians or others, may monitor all categories of healthparameters.

Governmental, law enforcement and personal security and surveillanceefforts and capabilities are implemented using fixed and mobile sensors.Many individuals and entities are making increasing use of arrays offixed sensor components that are easily deployed and routinelymonitored, as well sensors field-deployed on a wide array of unmannedvehicles, including small unmanned aerial systems, carrying increasinglysophisticated monitoring and surveillance suites.

Particularized commercial embodiments of devices and systems that werenot even conceived of a decade ago are finding their way into thecommercial marketplace, many for making individuals' lives moreconvenient in the increasingly fast-paced world of data communicationand information exchange. These include, for example, deployable and/ormonitorable security tokens by which individuals can track everythingfrom their keys, to their luggage, to their kids, to their vehicles.

Enter what has been dubbed the “Internet of Things” or IoT, for short.The term IoT generally refers to an increasingly ubiquitous interactivenetworking of physical devices. Such devices may be any of thosementioned above installed in structures, buildings, open areas,machines, vehicles, and the like, or on any manner of electronic device,luggage, packaging and the like associated with, or conveyed by, anyindividual user. In current vernacular, many of these systems and/ordevices are referred to as “connected” systems/devices or “smart”systems/devices to connote their connection to remote sources by whichthe systems and/or devices may be monitored, updated, controlled and thelike. Individual system monitoring and communication components may beinstalled, embedded or otherwise included in electronic systems andsub-systems, software-operated devices, sensors, actuators and even thehuman body (or animal bodies) for the collection and exchange of data.As generally understood, the IoT provides a mechanism by which operatingenvironments and operating parameters may be sensed or controlledremotely across differing networked information exchangeinfrastructures.

Advantages provided by the IoT may include advanced system monitoringand diagnostics for system and human failure detection and intervention,and broad-spectrum analytics. Other advantages may include advancedsystem and area monitoring for improved environmental control, physicaland cyber security, and loss prevention. The IoT bridges the dividebetween sensor systems and physical devices in a manner that may reduceinstances of required or desired human intervention to achieveparticular results based on information collectible from connectedsensors and actions implementable through connected actuators.

A variety of real-world scenarios are being explored from automatedpackage tracking and delivery to control of “smart” power grids, virtualpower plants and “smart” homes. The IoT may implement “intelligent”transportation systems, and even “driverless” vehicles. It is commonlyunderstood that 50 billion objects will be connected to, monitoredthrough, or controlled by aspects of, the IoT by 2020.

The scope of the “things” connected to the IoT is virtually boundless.Humans, animals, vehicles, packages, containerized shipments, currency,movable machinery and virtually anything else that is movable can betracked with conditions, positions and environments being monitoredand/or controlled. Buildings, structures, non-movable machinery, landmasses, sea levels, waterways, ice floes, and atmospherics, generallyanything that falls into a category of being considered substantiallyimmovable, are also subject to monitoring and potential control. Theoverarching environment does not matter in that a location of aparticular device on land, on or under the sea, in the air, or even inouter space may not restrict the ability to monitor and controlactivities via the “connected” device.

Network-connected devices may thus collect useful data with the help ofvarious existing technologies and then generally share the collecteddata with other network-connected devices, centralized data collection,analysis, and control facilities, or data repositories. The datacommunication, collection, analysis and control capacity of the IoT,with billions of connected devices, necessitates movement and storage ofa previously unforeseen mountain of data, which presents certaindefinable challenges.

A first challenge is with respect to the deconflicted communication ofthe data. For “incoming data,” the need exists to deconflict billions ofsensor signals to ensure that only those who should have access toparticular elements of sensed data may be able to obtain such access.For “outgoing data,” there is a coincident need to deconflict, forexample, billions of generated control signals to ensure that theremotely generated signals control only those devices to which they aredirected and intended to control, bypassing myriad connected, yetunintended, devices along a particular control signal transmission path.

A second challenge is with respect to storage and analysis of themountain of data. The data needs to be stored in such a manner that itis sortable, to be made accessible to a particular user in real time.Otherwise, the collection of the data may be virtually useless. Datastorage capacity will need to be increased dramatically over thatcurrently available in both physical and virtual locations. Data sortingschemes will need to be streamlined to promote seamless rapidaggregation, indexing and processing of the data in order that it can beacted upon most efficiently, and in virtually real time.

A third challenge is with respect to security of the data in storage,and in transmission between multiple diverse locations across many andwidely varied data transmission paths including wired, wireless andhybrid communication connections. One can easily foresee scenarios inwhich an ability to not only gain unauthorized access to data, butotherwise to generate incorrect, or improper, control signals mayproduce devastating consequences in the incorrectly, or improperly,controlled end devices or systems. The emergence and expansion of theIoT places renewed emphasis on countering MIJI (Meaconing, Intrusion,Jamming, and Interference), a problem with which militaries worldwidedealt decades ago, and over which some measure of success had previouslybeen seen.

A fourth challenge, and perhaps that which poses the most significant“new” and unforeseen challenge because of its attenuation from thestrict data exchange challenges outlined above, is with respect to thatelement that is common to all of electronic systems, electronic devices,electronic system components, sensors, controls, and the actuated oractuatable physical devices over which the IoT will afford individualsthe opportunity to exercise control, is the requirement that all of themyriad system components be “powered.”

Conventional power requirements take all forms. These includerequirements to provide certain constant power supplies, for example, tovolatile digital data storage components, security sensor components,health monitoring devices, timing units and the like. They also includeseparate and/or related requirements to be able to provide renewable orrechargeable on-demand power to any one of the above-mentionedcommunication, information exchange, sensor or actuator devices in amanner that allows those devices to be generally autonomously operated.For full implementation of the IoT, it is generally understood thatthere is a need to increase emphasis on “cutting the cord” in order thatthe largest percentage of the network connected devices can be operatedapart from being tied to some bulky, or limited mobility, power sourceor power supply. The global power requirement to support the abovenon-exhaustive list of use cases, and to appropriately power the datasensing, data collection, data communication, control signal generation,control signal transmission, operational controlimplementation/actuation, and other tasks undertaken by the IoT withdevices of every form, shape and function, is, in the aggregate,immense.

Supporting a global power requirement necessitates the expending ofnatural, naturally occurring, and/or manufactured/refined resources. Thestorehouse of available resources may have a limit at which thoseresources may be depleted. Concerns further arise not only regarding theultimate availability of the resources, but also with respect to theadverse effects that may arise with respect to the conversion of certainof those resources to a usable energy production output.

Advancing research efforts and resultant technologies with regard tomany of the above non-exhaustive list of use cases have, in manyinstances, systematically reduced the individual power requirements forproviding intermittent, or even constant, power to myriad electronicdevices, electronic components, sensors and actuators housed withinlarger component systems. Renewable energy technologies are pursued thatseek to further reduce the global impact of overall energy production byattempting to meet increasingly-efficient power requirements orconstraints, with increasingly environmentally-friendly energy sources.Despite the creativity in certain of the current research, it isgenerally understood that those research efforts in finding “smart”power sources are not keeping pace with the efforts at addressing theother challenges outlined above. Moreover, full implementation of theIoT may afford an opportunity to implement monitoring and controlfunctions in environments which are generally inaccessible, incompatiblewith, or inhospitable to conventional electrical energy sources.

SUMMARY

As the individual electronic component or unit power requirements arereduced, it may be advantageous to find implementing electrical powergeneration and delivery strategies, and to design and fabricateautonomous electrical power generation components that could be usablein portable electronic devices, and the electronic components housedwithin such devices, for example, to supplant, or augment, chemicalbattery, or other source, power generation and delivery to those devicesor components in an environmentally friendly, and renewably sustainablepower source.

It may be further advantageous, where possible, to install autonomouselectrical power generation components that are physically configured toprovide a renewably sustainable source of generated electrical power ona semi-permanent basis without any necessity to be physically disturbed,deformed, moved or otherwise externally interacted with. In this manner,the autonomous electrical power generation components may be embedded instructures, or deployed in environments, in which routine servicing,replacement, recharge or replenishment of the power source may otherwisebe considered impossible, or otherwise prohibitively expensive. Thedevelopment of an appropriate autonomous electrical power source mayenable specific classes of applications that are currently deemeddesirable, but uneconomic.

Exemplary embodiments of the systems and methods according to thisdisclosure may provide an autonomous electrical power source that isuniquely configured to provide measurable electrical output forsupplying power to electronic systems and electronic devices and/orelectrically-powered system components, including communication,alert/warning, sensor and actuator elements.

Exemplary embodiments may provide an autonomous electrical power sourcethat converts minimal amounts of thermal energy into a usable electricalpower output at an atomic level and packages the accumulated usableelectrical potential in a form that may be usable to power an electronicsystem, electronic device, and/or electrically-powered system componentaccording to a generally renewable physical reaction for thermalconversion at the atomic level based on the component structure of thepower source.

Exemplary embodiments may convert available thermal energy at virtuallyany temperature above absolute zero to a usable electrical potential inembodiments in which an ability to maintain a static electric potentialbetween electrodes may be useful. The structure of the autonomouselectrical power source may harness thermal energy from surroundingstructures in a manner that produces a usable amount of electrical poweraccording to a measurable and self-controlling physical reaction.

Exemplary embodiments may convert thermal energy at any temperatureabove absolute zero, and without physical movement or deformation of thepower source or components thereof, to a usable electrical output fromthe disclosed autonomous electrical power source structure in order tocontinuously, or intermittently, power an electronic system, electronicdevice and/or electrically-powered system component, including, but notlimited to, one or more of a communication, alert/warning, sensor, dataexchange and actuating element.

Exemplary embodiments may provide a usable electrical power output atany temperature above absolute zero, and without exposure to anyseparate energy generating source, including kinetic disturbance,vibrational movement, physical deformation or the like being applied tothe power source. In embodiments, the disclosed autonomous electricalpower source may be usable to internally generate usable electricalpower in environments that are devoid of any ambient light, and withoutany manner of external physical interaction with the structure of theautonomous electrical power source.

Exemplary embodiments may advantageously employ physical properties ofparticularly manufactured and conditioned conductors, at an atomiclevel, to beneficially employ characteristic electron motion, andchanneling of that electron motion between conductors in a usable mannerby optimally conditioning surfaces of opposing conductors to havemeasurably different work functions.

In embodiments, electrons are predictably and advantageously caused tomigrate from a comparatively low work function surface of a firstconductor in a direction of, and to accumulate on, a comparatively highwork function surface of a second conductor thereby establishing anelectric potential between the first and second conductors.

In embodiments, quantum tunneling effects are optimized to promote theelectron migration from the low work function conductor surface andaccumulation of the electrons on the comparatively high work functionopposing (or facing) electrode surface.

Exemplary embodiments may optimize particular dielectric materialstructures interposed between the comparatively low work functionconductor surface and the comparatively high work function facingconductor surface to promote optimized or enhanced rates of electronmigration to, and accumulation on, the comparatively high work functionsurface of a facing electrode.

Exemplary embodiments may produce individualconductor-dielectric-conductor “sandwiched” electrical power generatingelements.

Exemplary embodiments may aggregate pluralities of individual electricalpower generating elements as particularly-formed autonomous electricalpower source components for delivery of conditioned electrical power asa separate power source or as a supplement to another power sourcesupplying power to electrical and/or electronic components.

Exemplary embodiments may provide particularly-formed autonomouselectrical power source components for electrically powering integratedcircuitry, and/or integrated circuits. In embodiments, the autonomouselectrical power source components may be formed as a part, or portion,of the integrated circuit component.

Exemplary embodiments may provide autonomous electrical power sourcecomponents that may be integrated with sensor and/or communicationelements. In embodiments, integrated packages including the disclosedautonomous electrical power source components and one or more of sensorand communication elements may be permanently embedded in structuresand/or structural elements at a point of manufacturer of thosestructures and/or structural elements to provide environmental and/orinternal structural integrity sensing for the structures and/orstructural elements throughout a useful or service life of thestructures and/or structural elements in which communicating, sensor,actuating or other like devices powered by the autonomous electricalpower source components may be embedded for use.

These and other features, and advantages, of the disclosed systems andmethods are described in, or apparent from, the following detaileddescription of various exemplary embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various exemplary embodiments of the disclosed systems and methodsrelating to structures and implementations of a unique,environmentally-friendly autonomous electrical power source componentfor providing renewable energy, or a renewable energy supplement, inelectronic systems, electronic devices and electrically-powered systemcomponents, will be described, in detail, with reference to thefollowing drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a first exemplary embodimentof an autonomous electrical power source component constituent elementaccording to this disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a second exemplary embodimentof an autonomous electrical power source component constituent elementaccording to this disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of a third exemplary embodimentof an autonomous electrical power source component constituent elementaccording to this disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of a fourth exemplary embodimentof an autonomous electrical power source component constituent elementaccording to this disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of anelectrical circuit controlled device/load powered by an autonomouselectrical power source component element according to this disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of anelectrical circuit controlled device/load powered by an autonomouselectrical power source component element, including a plurality ofautonomous electrical power source component constituent elementselectrically connected to each other, according to this disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of anintegrated package including at least one electrically-driven componentpowered by an autonomous electrical power source component element,including a plurality of autonomous electrical power source componentconstituent elements electrically connected to each other, according tothis disclosure;

FIGS. 8A-8I illustrate schematic diagrams of a series of exemplary stepsin a build process of an autonomous electrical power source componentelement, including a plurality of autonomous electrical power sourcecomponent constituent elements electrically connected to each other,according to this disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method for executing abuild process for an autonomous electrical power source componentelement, including a plurality of autonomous electrical power sourcecomponent constituent elements electrically connected to each other,according to this disclosure; and

FIG. 10 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary deviceincorporating at least one autonomous electrical power source componentaccording to this disclosure as a power source, or as a supplement to abattery, a photocell or another power source for powering the exemplarydevice.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The systems and methods according to this disclosure relate tostructures and implementations of a unique, environmentally-friendlyautonomous electrical power source component having a thermal energyharvesting capacity for providing renewable energy, or a renewableenergy supplement, in electronic systems, electronic devices andelectrically-powered system components, including sensor, communication,alert/warning, and actuation elements. The disclosed autonomouselectrical power source component may be particularly formed accordingto a micro fabrication process on the sub-micron scale to advantageouslyemploy electron motion in a particularly advantageous manner to render ameasurable electrical potential in, or to provide a measurableelectrical output from, an autonomous electrical power source componentcomposed of multiple “sandwiched” elements according to a particularcombination of physical structures that combine certain physical effectsto provide the output electrical power at virtually all temperaturesabove absolute zero, in ambient light devoid environments, and withoutphysical disturbance or deformation of the structure of the autonomouspower source components.

The disclosed schemes advantageously configure physical structures tochannel electron motion, at the atomic level, in a manner that providesa measurable and useful electrical output. Minimal amounts of thermalenergy at any temperature above absolute zero may be collected andconverted to usable output electrical power. As power requirements forcertain electronic devices continue to decrease, the disclosedstructures for sub-scale autonomous electrical power source componentsmay be advantageously employed to meet those power requirements, or toprovide electrical energy conversion capacity by which to supplementother available power sources typically known to be provided forpowering mobile and/or remote devices. The disclosed systems and methodsmay provide autonomous electrical power source components to be employedin environments in which routine servicing or recharge, or batteryrenewal, replenishment or replacement, currently presents anon-optimized operational configuration. In embodiments, the disclosedautonomous power source components may be embedded in structures inwhich, once embedded, access to the individual autonomous power sourcecomponents, for any one or more of servicing, recharge, replacementand/or replenishment would be impossible. The disclosed autonomous powersource component structures and capabilities, and the scalability of theresources and outputs, have been, in a first instance, experimentallyreproduced in a laboratory environment.

Reference will be made to the employment of the disclosed exemplaryautonomous electrical power source components to a number of real worldbeneficial purposes. The discussion of any particular use case forapplication of the disclosed schemes should not be considered aslimiting the disclosed subject matter to employment with any particularclass of electrical component, electrical circuit, electronic device, orany particular electrically-driven system component, including anycommunication, alert/warning, sensor or actuator element. It should berecognized that any advantageous use of the disclosed schemes foremploying a particularly-configured autonomous electrical power sourcecomponent according to the described embodiments to effect energysupply, or energy-supply supplementation, employing systems, methods,techniques, processes and/or schemes such as those discussed in detailherein is contemplated as being included within the scope of thedisclosed exemplary systems and methods. In this regard, the disclosedsystems and methods will be described as being particularly adaptable toproviding measurable electrical power to certain electronic systems,electronic/electrical devices, and/or electrically-powered systemcomponents, including sensor, communication, alert/warning, actuator andother like elements, as easily-understandable and non-limiting examplesof particularly advantageous uses of the disclosed autonomous electricalpower source components. General reference throughout this disclosurewill be made to particular use cases in which the disclosed autonomouselectrical power source components may be usable in inhospitableenvironments, and embedded in structures, to convert minimal thermalenergy to usable electrical power in scenarios in which routineservicing, replacement, recharge or replenishment may be difficult, ifnot impossible. Reference to any particular one of these use cases isnot intended to exclude other use cases in which the disclosedstructures for autonomous electrical power source components may beotherwise employed, including as sub-scale or micrometer-sizedautonomous electrical power sources.

Reference to any particularly useful compositions of the materials fromwhich the disclosed component layers of the autonomous electrical powersource components may be formed and combined in the sub-micron scale arealso descriptive only of broad classes of input materials that may beused. Suitable materials for such several Angstrom-thick to tens ofnanometers thick layers may be discussed specifically according to theircomposition, or may be more broadly referred to by certain functionalparameters, neither of which should be considered to limit the scope ofavailable input materials of which conductor layers, low work functionlayers and/or dielectric layers may be formed.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a first exemplary embodimentof an autonomous electrical power source component constituent element100 according to this disclosure. The disclosed schemes are directed toparticular configurations of components for generating an electricalpotential in the presence of minimal ambient heat or thermal energy. Asshown in FIG. 1, a particular arrangement of the disclosed autonomouselectrical power source component constituent element 100 may be in aform of a multi-layered component structure including at least a pair ofopposing conductor layers (conductors) 110, 140 set at aparticularly-measured small interval of less than 100 nm with respect toone another. The small interval between the conductors 110, 140 may beoptimized to advantageously make use of a known quantum tunnelingeffect, as will be described in greater detail below. The spacingbetween the opposing conductor layers is critical in that arrangementswith an interval spacing between the opposing conductor layers 110, 140in a range in excess of approximately 200 nm may cause the electricalconduction phenomena according to this disclosure to cease.

Conductor 110 represents one of the output terminals for the accumulatedelectrical potential from the exemplary autonomous electrical powersource component constituent element 100. A surface of conductor 110facing conductor 140 may be conditioned in a manner described below tolower a work function of the facing surface of the conductor 110, e.g.to be in a range of less than 1.0 eV. In embodiments, this conditioningmay be in the form of surface treating the conductor 110 with aparticular low work function material, or in a form of depositing aseparate particular low work function layer 120 on the facing surface ofthe conductor 110. This low work function layer 120 may be in intimatecontact with the facing surface of the conductor 110 and may berelatively thin, on an order of Angstroms, e.g., not more than 20 A, inthickness. The low work function layer 120 may have additional surfacemodifications made to it that further reduce a work function of the lowwork function layer 120.

A dielectric “layer” 130 may exist between the low work function layer120 on the facing surface of the conductor 110, and the facing surfaceof the conductor 140. Those of skill in the art recognize that adielectric layer may be in the form of a vacuum or an air gap, which isaccording to the depiction of the dielectric “layer” 130 in FIG. 1, andmay also be in the form of a solid or liquid dielectric material, asshown in other exemplary embodiments discussed below. As noted above, inembodiments, the dielectric “layer” 130 may be very thin, again on theorder of Angstroms thick. Thus, a dielectric “layer” 130 in a form of anair gap, as depicted in FIG. 1, while possible, may be comparativelymore difficult to engineer in that the dielectric “layer” 130 mustmaintain separation between the low work function layer 120 and thefacing surface of the conductor 140 to avoid shorting between theopposing conductor 110, 140. As will be described in greater detailbelow with reference to the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 2, thedielectric layer may comprise a physical structure which may be includedpiezoelectric particles incorporated on its outer surfaces, orthroughout its structure.

Conductor 140 is the other of the output terminals for the accumulatedelectrical potential and is formed to have a facing surface with arelatively (or comparatively) higher work function (2.0 eV or greater)and a low resistance to reduce transmission losses. According to themechanics of the disclosed schemes, the structure shown in FIG. 1, andin like manner the structures in FIGS. 2-4, may produce a staticelectric field that may, be usable even without discharging elements, orattachment to a load, to produce, for example, a usable static electricfield for employment in known use cases including for biasing atransistor. Importantly, the structure of the autonomous electricalpower source component constituent element 100 provides for theaccumulation of an electrical potential in instances in which theautonomous electrical power source component constituent element 100 isnot subjected to any physical movement, physical deformation of any ofits constituent elements, or any physical disturbance whatsoever.

It is known that electrons have a certain amount of energy that isgenerally described according to Schrodinger's wave equation. Workfunction is the energy required, usually specified in electron volts(eV), for the electrons to leave a surface of a material (often a metalsurface) and to migrate, for example, into a vacuum facing the surfaceof the material. In solid-state physics, the work function is theminimum thermodynamic work (i.e., energy) needed to remove an electronfrom a surface of a solid to a final electron position separated fromthe surface of the solid on the atomic scale, but still too close enoughto the surface of the solid to be influenced by ambient electric fields.The work function is not a characteristic of the bulk material, butrather is a property of the surface of the solid or material.

As temperature increases above absolute zero, the electrons become moreenergetic and more easily leave the surface of the solid. When below theenergy required by the work function for the electrons to leave thesurface of the solid, there is only a small probability that theelectrons will leave the surface. In other words, this is not a purelyon and off function. Statistically, a particular electron may have moreenergy than the average energy of the surrounding electrons and may moreeasily migrate away from the surface of the solid. Random electrons maystill leave the surface even when the temperature is below that whichthe work function indicates may allow the electrons to be energizedenough to more freely leave the surface. As a work function of aparticular surface is decreased in a donor (or emitter) surface, as inthe surface conditioning of conductor 110 with a low work function layer120 described above, or according to any one of a number of differentmechanisms (as will be described below), it becomes easier for largernumbers of electrons to leave the donor or emitter surface and migratetoward the receptor surface with the comparatively higher work function.It is more difficult for electrons to freely leave the receptor surfacebased on the higher work function.

A simplified description of the operation of the structural embodimentsaccording to this disclosure may be characterized as follows. The workfunction of the free electrons in the conductor 110 is lowered enough bysurface conditioning, or the presence of the low work function layer120, such that the free electrons leak into and through the very thin,i.e., Angstroms thick, dielectric “layer” 130 in direction A by themechanism of quantum tunneling at room temperatures. A similar processis occurring in the opposite direction from conductor 140, but at a ratethat is orders of magnitude lower due to the relatively or comparativelyhigh work function of the material of the facing surface of conductor140.

When a particularly low work function (less than 1.0 eV) material, e.g.,silver oxide cesium, is employed as the donor or emitter surface, acomparatively larger number of electrons leave the surface at roomtemperature. When another surface is employed, like copper or gold,which has a comparatively higher work function (more than 2.0 eV and ina range of 5.0 eV or more) at room temperature then, the donor oremitter surface releases comparatively much larger numbers of electronsthan the receptor surface. It should be noted that differences in workfunction in the opposing conductor faces or surfaces of as little as 1.0eV may produce usable electrical output from the disclosed structuresfor the exemplary autonomous electrical power source componentconstituent element 100. Quantum tunneling effects are a necessarycomponent of the disclosed schemes and are implemented through theminimal proximities (less than 200 Angstroms), across the dielectriclayer 130, of the facing surfaces of the conductors 110, 140 and thepresence of the low work function conditioning, or low work functionlayer 120, on the surface of the conductor 110.

At rest, given the proper combination materials, there is always goingto be energy transfer from the donor or emitter surface to the receptorsurface based on the above-described designed differences in workfunction of the respective surfaces. In this manner, the transfer ofelectrons, in a managed and predictable manner, is directed from aparticular donor or emitter surface to a particular receptor surface. Inembodiments, this is accomplished by conditioning the respectivesurfaces and placing them in properly close proximity to each other. Theunique design placement of the respective layers generally describedabove results in a previously unforeseen, and previously unachievable,measurable electrical power potential accumulation on the receptorsurface.

The electron migration process described above continues until theelectric potential is high enough to stop further accumulation ofelectrons in the facing surface of the receptor, conductor 140. Theelectron accumulation on the facing surface of conductor 140 may besubstantially equivalent to the electron depletion in the conditionedfacing surface of conductor 110.

When an electrical circuit is completed between the conductors 110, 140(in a manner similar to that shown in FIG. 5) electrons flow via theelectrical circuit pathway from the conductor on which the electrons areaccumulated (the receptor conductor with the comparatively high workfunction facing surface) to the conductor from which the electronsmigrated across the dielectric layer internal to the autonomouselectrical power source component constituent element 100 (the donor oremitter conductor with the comparatively low (and conditioned) workfunction surface) to equalize the charges. Thus, the collected thermalenergy manifested as controlled electron migration between respectiveconductor surfaces is converted to electrical energy. With the staticequilibrium state having been disturbed, the migration of electrons fromthe donor or emitter surface to the receptor surface re-commences.

The donor or emitter surface conductor 110 and the receptor surfaceconductor 140 may be comprised of high quality conductor materials inorder to complete the electrical path by conducting electricity well,i.e., with little inherent resistance. To drive a lower work function ina surface of the conductor 110, a different material may be combinedwith the conductor 110 by, for example, surface treating the conductor110 with an oxide and potentially nitrogen to turn the surface of theconductor 110 into a form of a semiconductor lowering the work functionof the surface of the conductor 110. As indicated above, it is not amatter of what happens throughout the mass of the conductor 110, butrather what happens with electron migration at the surface. The materialfrom which the conductor 110 is formed, therefore, is chosen to providea good conduction to complete the electrical path.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a second exemplary embodimentof autonomous electrical power source component constituent element 200according to this disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, a particulararrangement of the disclosed autonomous electrical power sourcecomponent constituent element 200 may again be in a form of amulti-layered component structure including at least a pair of opposingconductor layers (conductors) 210, 240 set on either face of a thin(less than 100 nm in embodiments, and in embodiments on an order 100Angstroms or 20-60 Angstroms) dielectric layer 230. Again here, it mustbe noted that this particular sizing of the dielectric layer 230 iscritical in achieving the accumulation of the electrical potential inthe autonomous electrical power source component constituent element 200in the absence of any external physical disturbance or deformation ofthe structure of the autonomous electrical power source componentconstituent element 200.

Typical conductor materials, by themselves, exhibit comparatively highwork functions without a semiconductor or other surface treatment. As aresult, any opposing conductor 240 may, in an unconditioned state, havea surface that inherently displays a comparatively high (or higher) workfunction. Because a dielectric layer in a form of a vacuum or an air gapin the manner shown in FIG. 1 may present certain challenges in arepeatable manufacturing process based on the small clearances betweenthe low work function layer and the high work function facing surface ofthe opposing conductor, presence of a dielectric composition (solid orliquid) may provide a formed dielectric layer 230 in order to ensurepositive, consistent and/or controllable separation between the low workfunction surface of conductor 210, or the low work function layer 220,and the facing surface of the opposing conductor 240 to avoid shortingtherebetween.

The presence of the material structure of the dielectric layer 230addresses a difficulty in how to maintain opposing conductive layersnanometers apart over comparatively large areas based on theproportional scales at which the autonomous electrical power sourcecomponent constituent elements 200 may be manufactured. The dielectric(or semiconductor) layer 230 may substantially ensure that the electronstransfer from the low work energy surface 220 to the comparativelyhigher work energy surface of the conductor 240, while also ensuringthat the two conductors 210, 240 do not internally short to one another,particularly based on an imperfection in a surface topography based onthe critical tolerances and the infinitesimally small clearances betweenthe opposing surfaces. The presence of the formed dielectric layer 230,or a presence of any dielectric, does not determine a direction of theflow of electrons (see arrow A). That direction of flow is determinedaccording to the differential work functions in the respective donor oremitter, and receptor, surfaces. The dielectric layer 230 does, however,provide the spacer for facilitating the flow of electrons from the lowwork function surface layer 220 to the high work function facing surfaceof the opposing conductor 240. This positive separation ensures that theonly path by which electrons can return to the low work function surfaceis through any attached load. See FIG. 5.

It has been long recognized that a very weak, but manageable, transferof electrons is exhibited, or may be facilitated, between surfaces at aparticular temperature, i.e., with no temperature differential betweenthe surfaces, conceptually in contravention of the Second Law ofThermodynamics. See generally Fu et al., “Realization of Maxwell'sHypothesis—A heat-electric conversion in contradiction to Kelvin'sstatement,” arXiv:physics/03 11104 [physics.gen-ph] (Nov. 20, 2003)(describing an electron transfer phenomena in an induced magnetic fieldwhere both parallel surfaces are at a same temperature, theoreticallyviolating the Second Law of Thermodynamics). The disclosed schemes forparticularly presenting structures in which opposing surfaces ofconductor layers are conditioned to have differentiable work functions,and are placed in close enough proximity to substantially ensure aquantum tunneling effect overcome the shortfalls, which those of skillin the art generally accepted, in providing consequential and usableelectrical power out of the disclosed autonomous electrical power sourcecomponent constituent elements.

As mentioned above, quantum tunneling is an essential characteristic ofthe disclosed embodiments. The tunneling effect can be effectivelycontrolled. At about a 200 Angstrom or greater gap, the tunneling effectessentially disappears. At around 20 angstroms, however, the exponentialfunction of the current increases significantly. A wave function beginsto overlap the receptor conductor as the gap between the conductors isprecisely controlled in a range of 100 nanometers or less, increasing ina range of 100 angstroms or less and increasing further in a range ofapproximately 20 to 60 angstroms. Based on this overlap, the freeelectrons can be trapped by the high work function surface to become apart of the free electron cloud of the receptor conductor. The high workfunction surface maintains its high barrier against release,significantly restricting residual release of electrons, potentially fortunneling, back in the other direction.

Not only are the compositions of the surfaces important according tomaterials from which they are formed, the internal topography of thedonor (or emitter) and receptor surfaces are also important (the textureis important on a molecular level). In areas in which a surfacetopography comes to a sharp point, clusters of atoms are collectedand/or congregated. At these points, the electric field is particularlyfocused. Any allegedly completely flat surface will include certaintexture in its surface topography, in the sub-micron or Angstrom scale,that will promote higher tunneling effect in the respective raisedareas. Embodiments that take additional advantage of this phenomenon maybe described below with respect to, for example, FIGS. 3 and 4 byparticularly advantageously employing structural modifications toenhance these tunneling effects.

A unique enhancement in the disclosed layered arrangement schemes liesin consistently structurally implementing these quantum tunnelingeffects that are not seen at a macro-level. It is the channeling of thisquantum tunneling effect, occurring with gaps between the conductors ina range of 100 Angstrom or less, that causes (or promotes) enoughelectron transfer to generate an effective and measurable currentthrough the load, and particularly where the conductor layers areseparated in the tens of nanometers range from one another.

The dielectric layer 230 may be formed of candidates including aluminumoxide (A103) and Paralyne. Dielectric candidates with large bulk gapsinclude fluorinated Stanene. The dielectric layer 230 may be very thin,in a range of a monolayer of atoms or molecules to layers that areupwards to, but not greater than, 2000 times that thickness, i.e., up to100 Angstrom or so. The dielectric layer 230 may be uniform or varied inmaterial composition. It also may be fully densified or porous with gasor vacuum within any voids that may be present. The dielectric layer 230is intended to minimize electrical conduction. In embodiments, thedielectric layer may be 20 to 60 angstroms, to as much as 100 Angstroms,thick in order to increase the quantum tunneling effect. A thinnerdielectric layer 230 may be preferable in its capacity to promote higherelectron migration according to the quantum tunneling affects, betterutilizing a tail of the wave function. The thicker the dielectric layer230 beyond 100 Angstrom, for example, significantly reduces the quantumtunneling effect, until such effect ceases to occur in thicknesses ofthe dielectric layer 230 in excess of 200 Angstrom. The lower limit to athickness of the dielectric layer 230 may be restricted based on thecomposition of the material from which the dielectric layer 230 may beformed in that, at very thin layers in a range of, for example, 10angstroms or less, dielectric breakdown may occur under certaincircumstances.

The effects that may be harnessed according to the disclosed schemes arebased on the presence of the low work function surface. The high workfunction surface will generally be at a work function in a range of 2+eV compared to 1.0 eV or less, for example, 0.8-0.6 eV (andtheoretically even as low as 0.1 eV) in the low work function surface.When these surfaces are brought into the near contact with one another,separated by a dielectric layer in the manner described above, electrontransfer occurs at a previously unanticipated rate. This electrontransfer causes an electrical potential to accumulate in the layeredstructure of the autonomous electrical power source componentconstituent elements of the structures shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, describedabove, and FIGS. 3 and 4, as will be described in further detail below.As with any other electrical power source, when a load is connected tothe disclosed autonomous electrical power source, certain depletion ofthe electrical potential occurs. Consider that the electrons flow fromthe high work function surface conductor through the load to the lowwork function surface conductor. The equilibrium between the low workfunction surface and the high work function surface is disturbed andelectron transfer between those surfaces re-commences or continues in asustainable manner as the electron transfer through the load may becontrolled.

In a particular embodiment, the low work function layer may be comprisedof a carbon nitride film deposited by, for example, an RF reactivemagnetron sputtered graphite carbon in an N2 discharge. The effectivework function for the carbon nitride films may be determined using theFowler-Nordheim equation to be in a range of 0.01-0.1 eV. The substratetemperature of 200° C., floating potential at the substrate, andnitrogen partial pressure of 0.3 Pa may be favorable to promote thereaction that lowers the work function Emitting-current density (J) mayfollow the Fowler-Nordheim (FN) relation:

-   where A and B are constant, is the dimensionless field enhancement    factor, and E and b are the external electric field and the work    function, respectively. From this relationship, reducing the work    function is mathematically shown as an effective means to enhance    electron transfer/migration according to this equation. Apart from,    or in addition to, selecting particular materials for reducing the    work function of, or associated with, a first conductor, possible    physical mechanisms of reducing the work function may include the    charge tunneling, surface roughening, or nano-structuring that    enlarge the local curvature of the surface of the donor or emitter    conductor. Chemical adsorption may be employed as well, noting,    however, that only the field emission governed by the chemical    adsorption on the surface of the conductor is intrinsic.

A non-limiting list of candidate substrates and/or surface treatments,in addition to those mentioned above, includes the following:

-   -   Single layer graphene    -   Lanthanum hexaboride or LaB6    -   Double-Barrier Quantum Well Structure (AlSb/GaSb/AlSb resonant        tunneling diode structure)    -   Carbon nitride coating    -   Carbon nitride plus boron nitride surface film    -   AgOCe    -   Ga-doped ZnO nanoneedle surface for enhanced electric field        gradient    -   Conductor surface treating with an ionization process    -   RF-reactive sputtered graphite carbon

The differential in work function between the higher work function layerand the low work function layer may be mediated, controlled or otherwiseadjusted (even optimized) based on a composition of the material formingthe intermediate layers at or between the surfaces of the donor andreceptor layers of the conductors, or, for example, based ondifferential surface treatments of the individual donor and receptorsurfaces of the conductors. For the purposes of this disclosure, asurface treatment of the donor or receptor surfaces of the conductorsmay be, or otherwise to contribute to, the intermediate layer structure,including the dielectric layer, separating the donor and receptorsurfaces.

Exemplary embodiments described and depicted in this disclosure shouldnot be interpreted as being specifically limited to any particularconfiguration of an autonomous electrical power source componentconstituent element structure, except insofar as particular dimensions,as disclosed, are determined to be critical to enhancing the describedelectrical power generation capabilities. Additionally, althoughcandidate materials may be specified for each of the conductors, the lowwork function surface layer or surface layer conditioning, thedielectric layer and the like, the disclosed embodiments should not beinterpreted as being limited to any of the specific examples cited, orto any particular individual materials for forming the particular layersof each of the exemplary autonomous electrical power source componentconstituent elements.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of a third exemplary embodimentof an autonomous electrical power source component constituent element300 according to this disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, a particularstructure of the disclosed autonomous electrical power source componentconstituent element 300 may again be in a form of a multi-layeredcomponent structure including at least a pair of opposing conductorlayers (conductors) 310, 340 set on either face of a thin (typicallyless than 100 Angstrom, and in embodiments on an order of 20-60Angstrom) dielectric layer 330.

FIG. 3 depicts certain variation in a structure of the dielectric layer330. The dielectric layer 330 may, in the same manner described abovewith regard to the dielectric layer 230 depicted in FIG. 2, be porous ona nanoscale, and generally less than 100 Angstrom in overall thickness.A particular compound may be placed in the pores. Those of skill in theart recognize that not all materials are, in fact, porous on thenanoscale. There are certain materials that are “densified” enough to benonporous, even on the nanoscale. In these materials, there is not anopening large enough for even the smallest atom to fit through. Whencertain material formation techniques are undertaken including, forexample, vapor deposition, a particular material may be renderednon-porous on the atomic or nanoscale. In embodiments, the dielectriclayer 330 may be porous in order that the other material can be insertedin the pores.

In embodiments, the other material may be comprised of metal cations ina water solution, for example, that can enhance the thermal energyharvesting capacity of the overall structure. Examples of the metalcations include: Nickel Chloride, Copper Chloride, Ferric Chloride,Potassium Chloride, or most metal Sulfates, Iodides, Bromides, and/orFluorides.

Further, FIG. 3 is intended to depict a side view of the dielectriclayer 330 formed to have a nonlinear pattern. Such a feature in thephysical construct of the dielectric layer 330 may enhance the activity(motion) of the electrons through the dielectric layer 330 between thelow work function surface 320 of the conductor 310 and the high workfunction surface of the conductor 340. The nonlinear structure, orpatterning, in the dielectric layer 330 enhances the thermal activity ofthe electrons. A non-linear structure to the dielectric layer 330, asincluded in this disclosure, refers to a locally or overall taperedmicrostructure which will induce significantly enhanced activity(motion) of the electrons at the “small” ends or locally small endportions, as will be further described below.

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of a fourth exemplary embodimentof an autonomous electrical power source component constituent element400 according to this disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, a particulararrangement of the disclosed autonomous electrical power sourcecomponent constituent element 400 may again be in a form of amulti-layered component structure including at least a pair of opposingconductor layers (conductors) 410, 440 set on either face of a thin(typically less than 100 Angstrom, and in embodiments on an order of20-60 nm Angstrom dielectric layer 430. A low work function surfacetreatment, or low work function surface layer 420 may be applied to aface of the conductor 410 to promote electron migration from the surfaceof the conductor 410, or from the surface layer 420, in a direction of asurface face of an opposing conductor 440 in direction A as shown.

FIG. 4 depicts another variation in a structure of the dielectric layer430. In this embodiment, the dielectric layer 430 may be particularlyformed, at least in part, as a series of horn structures the small endof the horns terminating at the low work function layer 420. Such astructure may enhance the activity of the electrons at the interface ofthe low work function layer 420 with the small ends of the hornedstructure of the dielectric layer 430 making it easier for the electronsto escape the low work function layer 420. Ionic liquids may be employedto fill the voids in the dielectric layer 430 created by such astructural arrangement. For embodiments intended to be used inparticularly cold environs, the liquid dielectric component may beexcluded. As depicted, broad ends of the horn structures of thedielectric layer 430 may contact the high work function surface of theconductor 440.

Regarding these conical shapes, because the energy is equal to one halfthe velocity squared times the mass (E=1/2 mv2), as a cross-sectiondecreases and the mass therefore decreases, in a resonant structure, thevelocity must increase a square root of the decrease in the mass. Thetaper may be adjusted based on the acoustic impedance and velocity ofthe material so that the energy distribution remains uniform, thustranslation toward the smaller end requires increasing velocity. Theelectron energy, therefore, is further enhanced simply by a uniqueconfiguration of the mechanical structure of the dielectric layer 430,still with an overall thickness in a range of 100 nm or less, andpreferably 100 angstroms or less.

FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment 500 ofan electrical circuit controlled device/load powered by an autonomouselectrical power source component element according to this disclosure.The arrangement of the autonomous electrical power source componentelement is in a form of the multi-layered component structure includingat least a pair of opposing conductors 510, 540 set on either face of athin dielectric layer 530. A low work function surface treatment, or lowwork function surface layer 520, may be applied to a surface of theconductor 510 to promote electron migration from the surface of theconductor 510, or from the surface layer 520 in a direction of a surfaceof an opposing conductor 540 in direction A as shown.

In order to obtain power from the autonomous electrical power sourcecomponent element structure, leads 550, 560 may be connected for routingto and through a load 580 (which may include an electrically powered orcontrolled device). Controlling the current flow through the load 580provides a capacity to power the load 580 at discrete intervals, or whenproperly modulated, substantially continuously. Load regulation may notbe very good from the autonomous electrical power source componentelement itself. As such, the electrical power output may be conditionedby conditioning circuitry via, for example a power conditioning circuit570. The power conditioning circuit 570 may perform a power regulationfunction. Appropriately conditioned, the available energy could providea constant power source, or may be cycled. In embodiments, the load 580may be matched to the power source and a continuous supply of powercould be provided to an appropriately-sized load 580.

If a rate at which the electrons are returned through the externalcircuitry flowing from the conductor 540 of the autonomous electricalpower source component element (the receptor surface conductor) throughthe lead 550 in direction B, optionally to a power conditioning circuit570 and to and through the load 580, and then via the lead 560 indirection C to the conductor 510 (the donor surface conductor), the load580 could be powered continuously and substantially forever.Conventional power conditioning or power matching concepts may beapplicable to load match the load 580 to the available electrical powerable to be continuously supplied from the autonomous electrical powersource component element.

FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment 600 ofan electrical circuit controlled device/load powered by an autonomouselectrical power source component element including a plurality ofautonomous electrical power source component constituent elementselectrically connected to each other according to this disclosure. Astructure of an autonomous electrical power source component elementlayers appropriately-sized numbers of autonomous electrical power sourcecomponent constituent elements 610, configured as described above withreference to FIGS. 1-5, as stacks of upward to 100 constituent elements610. Each of the autonomous electrical power source componentconstituent elements 610 may be on the order of tens of nanometersthick, and sandwiched between insulating layers 620, that may be on theorder each of approximately 10 gm thick. The autonomous electrical powersource component constituent elements 610 may be electrically connectedin order to provide an autonomous electrical power source componentstructure that produces a usable electric power output.

Typically, the autonomous electrical power source component constituentelements 610 are generally thin and fragile. The hosting in theinsulating layers 620 as a form of encasing structural components mayenhance physical strength and usability, and provide a platform forconnection, for example, of electrically interconnecting leads, andexternal wire leads 650, 660. An encasing structure or outer shell 630may be generally comprised of an insulating material. This now-insulatedstack of autonomous electrical power source component constituentelements 610 may then be further housed in, for example, a metallicstructure or structure composed, or formed, of generally any otherstructurally-sound materials. Because the layers are thin themselves,transitional electrically-conducting contacts may be provided in contactwith the layers to provide transition between the layers, andappropriately sized load-bearing wire leads 650, 660 for connecting theautonomous electrical power source component structure to a load 680directly, or through some form of power regular 670, for use. All of theelements depicted in FIG. 6 may then be housed as integral devices foraccomplishing particular tasks. In embodiments, the load 680 may be in aform of (1) a sensor, the integral device performing a sensingoperation; (2) a communication element, the integral device performing acommunicating operation; (3) an alert/warning element, the integraldevice performing an alerting or warning function, providing one or moreof a visual, audible or haptic indication of a condition of anenvironment in which the integral device is deployed and/or (4) anactuating element, the integral device performing an actuating function.

Voltage remains constant according to a fabrication or formation of theautonomous electrical power source component structure. Current scaleswith surface area of the opposing low work function and higher workfunction surfaces of each of the autonomous electrical power sourcecomponent constituent elements, or an overall surface area of theopposing surfaces in the aggregate. As such, power scales roughlylinearly with area (similar to a solar cell). More area causes migrationof more electrons resulting, in turn, more current at a same voltagewhen connected to a load.

As generally indicated above, a series (or stack) of sandwichedstructures may be accumulated to a particular thickness of, for example,50 to 100 (or more) individual autonomous electrical power sourcecomponent constituent elements 610 between insulating layers 620,according to the dimensions indicated below, to increase the power out.Each of the individual autonomous electrical power source componentconstituent elements 610 may be considered an individual power sourcethat is connectable in parallel or in series to others of the autonomouselectrical power source component constituent elements 610, asappropriate.

As an example of a particular conducting layer, graphene has beenexperimentally explored as providing favorable physical and electricalconduction properties. An amount of thermal energy available at roomtemperature yields a theoretical maximum power density available in arange of approximately 1 W per gram. The disclosed schemes are directedto maximizing or optimizing a surface effect. In this regard, thesurface area of the thin film structure that would equate to providingthis 1 Watt would be on an order of 2630 m2 of surface area,approximately 51 m×51 m.

For a particular surface area of the disclosed autonomous electricalpower source component structure, a 10 cm2 surface area (approximately1.25×1.25 inches) for the accumulated or aggregated autonomouselectrical power source component constituent elements 610 according tothe disclosed schemes may produce approximately 190 nW. Those of skillin the art recognize that this is a small amount of power and may needto be increased for most applications. Ten square centimeters is arelatively large area when compared to microelectronic devices andproducts of low power consumption. To scale down the packaged area,and/or to scale up the power, multiple layers may be employed in themanner shown in FIG. 6. It should be noted that, because thermal energyfrom the environment must flow through the additional structural layersto the inner layers, some energy accumulation reduction will beexperienced for each additional internal layer added. Thermal conductionlosses through the layers and thermal impedance mismatches betweenlayers may reduce the phonon flow from the environment by a factor ofupwards to 5%.

An exemplary experimental autonomous electrical power source componentstructure approximately 10 cm2 and 1 mm thick (comprising on the orderof 50 internal layers, and an outer encasing layer of 12-15 mils(approximately 350 microns) is anticipated to be able to produce anelectric potential of 1.2 V and an output power of 5 μW at roomtemperature. For reference, a typical electrically-powered men'swristwatch draws on an order of 1.0-1.2 μW.

In some “installations” or use cases, it will be appropriate toadditionally encase the insulated autonomous electrical power sourcecomponent constituent elements 610 of the component structure with theouter shell 630 that provides structural support and mounting for powerleads 650, 660 exiting the autonomous electrical power source componentstructure. A typical outer shell 630 may comprise a layer on the orderof 10 mils thick and may be comprised of, for example, polyether etherketone (PEEK). A resultant thickness of a stacked configuration of anexemplary autonomous electrical power source component including 50insulator-separated autonomous electrical power source componentconstituent elements 610 surrounded by an outer insulating shell beingin a range of 50 mils or less.

FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of anintegrated package 700 including at least one electrically-drivencomponent 720 powered by an autonomous electrical power source component730, including a plurality of autonomous electrical power sourcecomponent constituent elements electrically connected to each other,according to this disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 7, the integrated package 700 may include the at leastone electrically-driven component 720 and the autonomous electricalpower source component 730 being cooperatively mounted on a substrate710. The autonomous electrical power source component 730 may beelectrically connected to the at least one electrically-driven component720 by power leads 760, 770. In embodiments, the at least oneelectrically-driven component 720 may be one or more of a sensor,communication and actuating element. Such an integrated package 700 mayfind broad application as the autonomous electrical power sourcecomponent 730 may supply power to the at least one electrically-drivencomponent 720 when the integrated package 700 is arranged to beembedded, for example, in a structural member. A capacity for theautonomous electrical power source component 730 supply continuous orintermittent power to the at least one electrically-driven component 720in a broad spectrum of installations allows the integrated package 700to be emplaced in structures, environments and/or operating scenarios inwhich the integrated package 700 is not subjected to any externalphysical movement, distortion or the like, and in which routine accessto the required source of power for the at least oneelectrically-powered components 720, for servicing, replacement,recharge, or replenishment, may be substantially impossible.

Incorporation of the autonomous electrical power source component 730 ina particular integrated package 700, particularly where an intention isto provide substantially continuous electrical power to the at least oneelectrically-driven component 720 may require proper scaling of theautonomous electrical power source component 730 to ensure the sustainedcapacity to provide necessary electrical power.

FIGS. 8A-8I illustrate schematic diagrams of a series of exemplary stepsin a build process of an autonomous electrical power source componentstructure, including a plurality of autonomous electrical power sourcecomponent constituent elements electrically connected to each otheraccording to this disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 8A, an insulating layer 810 may be provided.

As shown in FIG. 8B, a conductor layer 820 may be provided on theinsulating layer 810 according to the above-described configurations.

As shown in FIG. 8C, a surface of the conductor layer 820 may beconditioned, or may have adhered, or otherwise placed in close contactto it, a low work function layer 830, rendering the conductor layer 820an electron donor or emitter layer, with the surface having a workfunction in a range of 1.0 eV or less.

As shown in FIG. 8D, a dielectric layer 840 according to any one of theabove-described embodiments, and having an overall finished thickness ina range of 100 nm or less, and preferably 100 angstroms or less, and inembodiments in a range of between 20 and 60 angstroms, may be depositedon the low work function layer 830.

As shown in FIG. 8E, another conductor 850 may be brought into contactwith the dielectric layer 840. The conductor 850 may have acomparatively higher work function (2.0 eV or more) facing surfacelayer. The positioning of the conductor 850 on the dielectric layer 840may complete the formation of a first autonomous electrical power sourcecomponent constituent element.

As shown in FIG. 8F, the build process may continue by providing anotherinsulator layer 811 in contact with the conductor 850 thereby encasingthe first autonomous electrical power source component constituentelement between two insulator layers 810, 811.

As shown in FIG. 8G, the build process depicted in FIGS. 8A-8F may berepeated in a manner that provides additional autonomous electricalpower source component constituent elements between insulator layers toconstruct an autonomous electrical power source component as shown, forexample, in FIG. 6, with the addition of a conductor layer 821, a lowwork function layer 831, a dielectric layer 841, a conductor layer 851,and another insulator layer 812.

As shown in FIG. 81-1, the respective autonomous electrical power sourcecomponent constituent elements may be connected in series using aninternal conductor 860.

As shown in FIG. 8I, the respective autonomous electrical power sourcecomponent constituent elements may be connected in parallel usinginternal conductors 880 and 890.

It should be noted that the above process may be repeated a number oftimes until an appropriate number of layers constituting autonomouselectrical power source component is completed. An objective of thebuild process may be to increase the overall surface area of theopposing conductors in the aggregate.

The disclosed embodiments may include a method for executing a buildprocess for an autonomous electrical power source component including aplurality of autonomous electrical power source component constituentelements electrically connected to each other. FIG. 9 illustrates aflowchart of such an exemplary method. As shown in FIG. 9, operation ofthe method commences at Step S9000 and proceeds to Step S9050.

In Step S9050, an insulating layer may be deposited or formed on asurface according to any known material deposition method. Inembodiments, the insulating layer may be presented as a solid structuralcomponent placed on the surface. In embodiments, an insulating layercomponent may be on an order of 10 gm thick for a stand-alone autonomouselectrical power source component, or if deposited, for example, on astructural elemental surface, which may include a structure forsupporting additional elements, including at least oneelectrically-powered device or element, to produce an integrated device,may be on an order of 1 gm thick. Operation of the method proceeds toStep S9100.

In Step S9100, an electrode, which may be configured to have acomparatively low work function (on an order of 1.0 eV or less) outwardor upward facing surface, may be deposited on the insulating layer. Inembodiments, an electrode material may be deposited or placed on theinsulating layer and additional measures may be taken to render thefacing surface of the electrode formed of the electrode material to havea low work function (in a range of 1.0 eV or less). In embodiments, theelectrode material may be graphene and the graphene layer may be onlymultiple Angstroms thick. Operation of the method proceeds to StepS9150.

In Step S9150, the facing surface of the electrode material may besurface conditioned to reduce a work function of the facing surface to1.0 eV or less, according to any of the mechanisms described above. Inembodiments, the low work function surface of the electrode may beintegral to the electrode, or may be an additional layer in intimatecontact with the facing surface of the electrode. Operation of themethod proceeds to Step S9200.

In Step S9200, a dielectric layer may be deposited or otherwise formedon the conditioned low work function facing surface of the conductor, oron the low work function layer in intimate contact with the facingsurface of the conductor. The dielectric layer may be in a range of lessthan 100 nm thick, and preferably in a range of less than 100 angstromsthick. In embodiments, the dielectric layer may be in a range of between20 angstroms and 60 angstroms thick. In embodiments, the dielectriclayer may be formed as a substantially homogeneous single materialstructure. In separate embodiments, the dielectric layer may be formedof multiple materials, including multiple materials in multiple layers.In embodiments, the dielectric layer may be formed in a manner thatproduces a non-linear profile when viewed from at least one edge of thedielectric layer. In embodiments, at least a portion of the dielectriclayer may be formed to have conically- or pyramidal-shaped structureswith a thin end being in contact with the low work surface layer and athick end facing away from the low work surface layer in a directionorthogonal to the low work surface layer. Operation of the methodproceeds to Step S9250.

In Step S9250, another electrode may be deposited, or otherwise formedor positioned, on the dielectric layer to form anelectrode/dielectric/electrode sandwiched structure referred tothroughout this disclosure as an autonomous electrical power sourcecomponent constituent element. The another electrode may have a facingsurface layer that faces the dielectric on which the another electrodeis formed, the facing surface layer of the another electrode having awork function substantially higher (2.0 eV or greater) than the workfunction of the facing surface of the first-placed electrode, or thework function of the low work function layer placed in intimate contactwith the first-placed electrode. In embodiments, the another electrodemay be formed of a deposited metal composition or material. Operation ofthe method proceeds to Step S9300.

In Step S9300, another insulating layer may be deposited, or otherwiseformed or positioned, on the electrode/dielectric/electrode sandwichedstructure comprising the first autonomous electrical power sourcecomponent constituent element. The combination of insulating layers mayprovide physical protection for the autonomous electrical power sourcecomponent constituent elements, electrical isolation from otherautonomous electrical power source component constituent elements in astacked configuration of an autonomous electrical power sourcecomponent, and a more substantial material structure through whichelectrode connections may be made to the autonomous electrical powersource component. Operation of the method proceeds to Step S9350.

In Step S9350, the electrodes of the electrode/dielectric/electrodeautonomous electrical power source component constituent elements may beelectrically interconnected with electrodes of other autonomouselectrical power source component constituent elements when being formedas a multiple autonomous electrical power source component constituentelement stacked autonomous electrical power source component structure.Operation of the method proceeds to Step S9400.

Step S9400 is a determination step in which it is determined whether allof the intended electrode/dielectric/electrode sandwiched structurescomprising each of the autonomous electrical power source componentconstituent elements are formed in a manner to comprise the overallintended composition of the autonomous electrical power source componentstructure. In embodiments, there may be at least 50 separateinsulator-separated autonomous electrical power source componentconstituent elements electrically interconnected to one another. Inembodiments, there may be as many as 100 or more separateinsulator-separated autonomous electrical power source componentconstituent elements electrically interconnected to one another. Atpresent, a practical upper limit to a number of insulator separatedautonomous electrical power source component constituent elementsaccording to the disclosed embodiments has not been established. In thisregard, a number of separate insulator-separated autonomous electricalpower source component constituent elements electrically interconnectedto one another may exceed 100.

If in Step S9400, it is determined that all of the intendedinsulator-separated autonomous electrical power source componentconstituent elements have not been formed in a manner that completes theintended stack, operation of the method reverts to Step S9100.

If in Step S9400, it is determined that all of the intendedinsulator-separated autonomous electrical power source componentconstituent elements have been formed in a manner that completes theintended stack, operation of the method proceeds to Step S9450.

In Step S9450, electrical leads may be attached to theelectrically-interconnected accumulated electrode/dielectric/electrodesandwich structures as the autonomous electrical power source componentconstituent elements comprising the stacked autonomous electrical powersource component structure. Operation of the method proceeds to StepS9500.

In Step S9500, the electrically-interconnected accumulatedelectrode/dielectric/electrode sandwiched structures each comprising anindividual autonomous electrical power source component constituentelement, which in combination compose an overall stacked autonomouselectrical power source component structure, may be over coated orotherwise externally coated with an encasing material, or an encasingstructure, to produce a completed autonomous electrical power sourcecomponent. Operation of the method proceeds to Step S9550.

In Step S9550, one or more completed autonomous electrical power sourcecomponent structures may be attached to, or embedded in, a device as apower source, a supplemental power source, or a power source augmentingunit to provide electrical power to the device. Operation of the methodproceeds to Step S9600, where operation of the method ceases.

As is described in some detail above, the systems and methods accordingto this disclosure may be directed at providing autonomous, orsupplemental, power to electronic systems, electronic devices, and/orelectrically-powered system components, including communication, sensor,and actuating elements.

FIG. 10 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary device 1000incorporating at least one autonomous electrical power source componentaccording to this disclosure as a power source, or as a supplement to abattery, a photocell or another power source for powering the exemplarydevice. As shown in FIG. 10, the exemplary device 1000 may have a bodystructure 1010 for housing multiple elements. Not all of the elementsshown in exemplary manner in FIG. 10 may necessarily be present in anyindividual embodiment of a particular powered device.

One or more photocells 1020 may be provided in a face of the exemplarydevice 1000 to provide power to components within the exemplary device1000. In this regard, photocells are only an example of a supplementalenergy harvesting technology usable in the exemplary device 1000. Forexample, triboelectric devices are under wide-spread development as areRF harvesters and other methods of harvesting various sources of ambientenergy, any of which could be included additionally, or as a substitutefor the photocells 1020 in the exemplary device. Separately, oradditionally, the exemplary device may be powered by a battery or otherexternal power supply (or power supply interface) 1060. One or moreautonomous electrical power source components or units 1050 may beprovided in the exemplary device 1000 as a stand-alone power source, apower source for individual components within the exemplary device, oras a supplemental power source to provide bridging or sustaining powerwhen any power recoverable from the photocells 1020 or the batteryand/or external power supply (or interface) 1060 becomes interrupted, orotherwise unavailable.

The exemplary device 1000 may include a display component 1030 which maybe independently powered by any one of the available power sources,including being autonomously powered by one or more of the autonomouselectrical power source components or units 1050.

The exemplary device 1000 may include a user interface 1040 which may beof any known composition by which a user may interact with the exemplarydevice 1000.

The exemplary device 1000 may include an environmental sensor 1070. Theenvironmental sensor 1070 may be in a form of, for example, atemperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a CO sensor, a smoke detector, aradon detector, a radiation detector, a hazardous material/substancedetector, or other similar sensor, detector or sensing or detectingelement for sensing one or more environmental parameters.

The exemplary device 1000 may include an external probe-type sensor 1080by which a user may use the external probe 1085 to sense any one of anumber of parameters associated with an environment surrounding theexemplary device 1000 and/or a material, structure or body with whichthe external probe sensor may be brought into proximity, near contact,or actual contact. Such an external probe-type sensor 1080 may, forexample, sense macro-vibrations of the material, structure or body, orof the device itself, seismic activity, or sensed motion in a vicinityof the device. The external probe 1085 may be in a form of a physical,proximity, optical or other known probe element. In this context, themacro vibrations have to do with the movement of a device or bodystructure, rather than the micro-vibrational energy produced at theelectron level on which the energy harvesting capacity of the disclosedschemes is based.

The exemplary device 1000 may include some manner of biometric sensor1100 by which a particular biometric parameter of a human body, ananimal body, or another living body or organism structure, may beevaluated. For human body parameter detection, the biometric sensor 1100may provide the exemplary device 1000 with a capacity, for example, tomake a therapeutic diagnosis of a condition of the human body, or tomonitor particular parameters by which to aid in medical diagnosis of acondition of the human body.

The exemplary device 1000 may include any other powered device 1090,including actuators, data processing elements, and/or wirelesscommunicating components, that may be electrically-powered by any one ofthe available power sources including particularly by one or moreautonomous electrical power source components or units.

The unique capacity of the disclosed embodiments of the autonomouselectrical power source components or units to operate when embedded instructures provides a capacity to internally assess parameters of thestructures in which detection elements may be embedded. Stress,deterioration, structural breakdown and the like are all subject toroutine monitoring and reporting.

The above-described exemplary systems and methods reference certainconventional components, sensors, materials, and real-world use cases toprovide a brief, general description of suitable operating, energyharvesting, and electrical power production environments in which thesubject matter of this disclosure may be implemented for familiarity andease of understanding.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other embodiments of thedisclosed subject matter may be practiced in many disparate electronicsystems, electronic/electrical devices, or electrically-powered systemcomponents of many different configurations.

The exemplary depicted sequence of executable instructions represent oneexample of a corresponding sequence of acts for implementing thefunctions described in the steps of the above-outlined exemplary method.The exemplary depicted steps may be executed in any reasonable order tocarry into effect the objectives of the disclosed embodiments. Noparticular order to the disclosed steps of the methods is necessarilyimplied by the depiction in FIG. 9 except where a particular method stepis a necessary precondition to execution of any other method step.

The disclosed schemes may provide, for example, a coin cell size devicethat produces the same output as a coin cell battery in virtually anystructure or environment. As such, the yield is comparable to currentsmall battery technology for driving small electronic devices in apackage that is comparatively environmentally friendly and producible ata same or a less cost than the small battery. Further, the disclosedstructures are generally perpetual in their capacity to produce usableelectrical output in virtually any employment scenario, including thosein which no external physical stimulation is available to the autonomouselectrical power source components or units. The disclosed schemes mayprovide an autonomous electrical power source component that is capableof operating at a temperature above absolute zero and in an ambientlight devoid environment, which may also be devoid of RF, mechanical andother forms of ambient energy.

The disclosed schemes may include autonomous electrical power sourcecomponent structures that may include one or more layers being laminatedtogether in a conventional laminating process to produce the stackedlayer components described above.

The disclosed schemes may provide a unique energy harvesting capabilityfrom minimal thermal energy that was unforeseen as it realistically mayhave been viewed by those of skill in the art as presenting a conceptthat, on its face, appears to be in contravention of the Second Law ofThermodynamics, which is an empirical law that is not provable. TheSecond Law of Thermodynamics teaches that at least two heat sources beprovided with one at a lower potential than the other. Based on the heatflow of one to the other, the differential is converted to energy. Thisis what gives rise to the operation of a steam engine, a thermoelectricgenerator (TEG), the thermocouple and the like. More specificallystated, there is an energy release based on a flow of energy from a heatsource to a heat sink. So in essence, the Second Law says that given atemperature differential there is an energy generation. The difficultyis that when reduced to equations, the equations based on the Second Lawof Thermodynamics are reduced to zero for equal temperature (equalpotential) surfaces. In other words, the Second Law of Thermodynamicswould seem to imply that there is no energy recovery available from twosources at substantially a same temperature in a sealed system. One ofskill in the art, given the Second Law of Thermodynamics, would likelyconclude that no charge difference is possible. It has, however, beenmathematically proven that certain electron migration may occur givencertain constraints (according to standard physics techniques). As such,it has been proven, that one can get work out of a single thermalreservoir of uniform temperature simply due to the molecular motioninherent in all formed bodies.

Extensive experimentation resulted in the disclosed schemes that presenta very thin collector layer, and a very thin emitter layer, each ofwhich may be of a thickness on the order of an atomic layer, i.e. 3 A or0.33 nm, and bring them into very close, non-contact proximity (lessthan 200 nm), typically on either side of the intervening layer of acomparable thickness formed of a dielectric material. The disclosedschemes implement a type of thermal energy harvesting because, atabsolute zero, there is no energy harvesting capability. Thermal energy,in the context of this disclosure, and as is generally understood, isthe amount of energy in a particular substance due to its molecularvibration or motion. If a substance is heated, even a little aboveabsolute zero, everything in the substance is moving around a littlefaster and it has a certain internal energy.

Although the above description may contain specific details, they shouldnot be construed as limiting the claims in any way. Other configurationsof the described embodiments of the disclosed systems and methods arepart of the scope of this disclosure.

It will be appreciated that various of the above-disclosed and otherfeatures and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirablycombined into many other different systems or applications. Also,various alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements thereinmay be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are alsointended to be encompassed by the following claims.

We claim:
 1. A method for forming an electrical power source element,comprising: forming a first conductor of a first conductive material ona support surface, the first conductor having a first facing surfacefacing away from the support surface and a second surface opposite thefirst surface facing the support surface; surface conditioning the firstfacing surface of the first conductor to have a comparatively low workfunction value measured in electron volts (eV); providing a secondconductor formed of a second conductive material, the second conductorhaving a first facing surface and a second surface opposite the firstfacing surface, the first facing surface of the second conductor havinga work function value in a range of at least 1.0 eV greater than thework function value of the surface conditioned first facing surface ofthe first conductor; and arranging the second conductor such that thefirst facing surface of the second conductor faces the first facingsurface of the first conductor, the second conductor being arranged toform a gap between the first facing surface of the first conductor andthe first facing surface of the second conductor, the gap being in arange of 200 angstroms or less in thickness, such that a resultantstructure of the electrical power source element promotes electronmigration between said first conductor and said second conductor throughquantum tunneling effects, causing the electrical power source elementto generate an electric potential between the first conductor and thesecond conductor at any temperature above absolute zero.
 2. The methodof claim 1, the conditioning of the first facing surface of the firstconductor comprising surface treating the first facing surface of thefirst conductor to lower the work function of the first surface to be inthe range of 1.0 eV or less.
 3. The method of claim 1, the conditioningof the first surface of the first conductor comprising forming aseparate material layer having a work function in the range of 1.0 eV orless on the first facing surface of the first conductor.
 4. The methodof claim 3, the separate material layer being in a range of 1 nm or lessin thickness.
 5. The method of claim 4, the separate material layerbeing a separate physical layer in intimate contact with the firstfacing surface of the first conductor.
 6. The method of claim 1, thefirst conductor and the second conductor each having a thickness in arange of 10 nm or less.
 7. The method of claim 1, the conductivematerial from which the first conductor is formed being graphene.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising forming a layer of a dielectricmaterial in the gap between the first facing surface of the firstconductor in the first facing surface of the second conductor.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, the dielectric layer being formed to have a thicknessin a range of 100 angstroms or less and being sandwiched between thefirst facing surface of the first conductor and the first facing surfaceof the second conductor.
 10. The method of claim 9, the dielectric layerbeing formed to have a thickness in a range of 20 angstroms to 60angstroms.
 11. The method of claim 9, the dielectric layer being formedto have a varying thickness across a planform of the dielectric layerbetween the first facing surface of the first conductor and the firstfacing surface of the second conductor.
 12. The method of claim 8, thedielectric layer being formed at least in part of a plurality of taperedshapes, each of the plurality of tapered shapes having a taperedstructure in which a cross-sectional area of the each of the pluralityof tapered shapes is comparatively larger at an and facing the firstfacing surface of the second conductor and comparatively smaller at anend facing the first facing surface of the first conductor.
 13. Themethod of claim 8, the dielectric layer being formed of a porousmaterial, a plurality of pores in the porous material being filled atleast in part with a metal cation.
 14. The method of claim 1, forming aninsulating layer in contact with at least one of the second surface ofthe first conductor and the second surface of the second conductor. 15.The method of claim 1, further comprising placing a first electric leadin electrical contact with the second surface of the first conductor anda second electrical lead in electrical contact with the second surfaceof the second conductor, the first electrical lead and the secondelectrical lead being configured to electrically connect the electricalpower source element to a load.
 16. A method for forming an electricalpower source component, comprising: forming an insulating layer on asupporting surface; forming an electrical power source element on theinsulating layer by arranging a first conductor of a conductive materialon the insulating layer, the first conductor having a first facingsurface facing away from the insulating layer and a second surfaceopposite the first surface facing the insulating layer, surfaceconditioning the first facing surface of the first conductor to have awork function value in a range of 1.0 eV or less, forming a dielectriclayer having a thickness in a range of 200 angstroms or less over thesurface conditioned first facing surface of the first conductor,arranging a second conductor having a first facing surface and a secondsurface opposite the first facing surface over the dielectric layer, thefirst facing surface of the second conductor having a work functionvalue in a range of 2.0 eV or greater, and facing the dielectric layer,the second conductor being arranged to form a gap between the firstfacing surface of the first conductor and the first facing surface ofthe second conductor, the gap being in a range of 100 Angstroms or lessin thickness, such that a resultant structure of the electrical powersource element promotes electron migration between said first conductorand said second conductor through quantum tunneling effects, causing theelectrical power source element to generate an electric potentialbetween the first conductor layer and the second conductor layer at anytemperature above absolute zero; forming another insulating layer on theelectrical power source element; repeating the forming the electricalpower source element and the forming the another insulating layer stepsuntil a desired stack of a number of electrical power source elements,each sandwiched between opposing insulating layers, is formed as astacked structure; electrically interconnecting the stacked number ofelectrical power source elements; and encasing the stacked structure ofthe number of electrical power source elements in an outer insulatingmaterial structure.
 17. The method of claim 16, each of the electricalpower source elements being formed to be less than 300 nm thick.
 18. Themethod of claim 16, each of the another insulating layers being formedto have a thickness of less than 10 μm.
 19. The method of claim 16, thedielectric layer being formed to have a thickness in a range of 20angstroms to 60 angstroms, and to be sandwiched between the first facingsurface of the first conductor and the first facing surface of thesecond conductor.
 20. The method of claim 16, the repeating the formingof the electrical power source element and the forming the anotherinsulating layer steps continuing until at least 50 electrical powersource elements separated by the another insulating layers is providedin the stacked structure, an overall thickness of the encased stackedstructure of the electrical power source component being in a range of50 mils or less.